Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 26, 2022; 10(18): 6338-6340
Published online Jun 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i18.6338
Stem cells as an option for the treatment of COVID-19
Maria Veronica Cuevas-González, Juan Carlos Cuevas-González
Maria Veronica Cuevas-González, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, Juarez 32310, Chihuahua, Mexico
Juan Carlos Cuevas-González, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juarez 32310, Chihuahua, Mexico
Author contributions: Cuevas-González MV and Cuevas-González JC wrote the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Juan Carlos Cuevas-González, PhD, Academic Research, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez, Av. Benjamín Franklin No. 4650, Zona Pronaf Condominio La Plata, Ciudad Juarez 32310, Chihuahua, Mexico. cuevas_gonzalez@hotmail.com
Received: February 6, 2022
Peer-review started: February 6, 2022
First decision: March 23, 2022
Revised: April 1, 2022
Accepted: May 12, 2022
Article in press: May 12, 2022
Published online: June 26, 2022
Processing time: 130 Days and 5.6 Hours
Abstract

The application of stem cells is among the many strategies currently available for the treatment of multiple diseases. Stem cells are characterized as undifferentiated cells that have the ability to differentiate towards multiple lineages and self-renewal, among other attributes. Since the first umbilical cord stem cell transplant for the treatment of Fanconi anemia, the use of stem cells for the treatment of multiple diseases, including coronavirus disease 2019, has increased, showing promising results that require evaluation through research studies that include a longer follow-up time. Therefore, the main objective of this Letter is to provide an update on the use of stem cells in the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, as well as identify the main challenges and limitations presented by this type of therapy.

Keywords: COVID-19; Stem cells; Multiple diseases; Undifferentiated cells; Appropriate treatment; Cytokines granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor

Core Tip: The stem-cell-derived microvesicles improve the oxygenation conditions of patients, thereby avoiding mechanical oxygenation methods. They demonstrate the ability to modulate the inflammatory response by reducing the levels of proinflammatory cytokines within the first few hours of their intravenous application because these microvesicles contain cytokines, growth factors, and microRNAs, which function as anti-inflammatory agents.